MUBI UK hits the farm this February with Andrea Arnold's documentary
Cow and the Icelandic oddity
Lamb. The roster also includes Céline Sciamma's latest, a selection from Berlinale, a Brazilian
Cannes winner and a romantic selection for Valentine's Day.
Petite Maman
Petite Maman
(2021), the latest treasure from Céline Sciamma (Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Girlhood), arrives on MUBI this month. The story follows eight-year-old Nelly
who, after the death of her beloved grandmother, meets a mysterious
friend in the woods. Together they embark on a fantastical journey of
discovery, which helps Nelly come to terms with this newfound loss.
A favourite from the 2021 festival circuit, this highly acclaimed,
sublime modern fairytale examines childhood, memory and loss with a
delicate touch, elegantly weaved together into an enchanting and moving
depiction of love and acceptance.
To accompany the release of Petite Maman MUBI will be showing a programme of Sciamma’s perceptive
portraits of childhood including: Tomboy (2011),
Water Lilies (2007) and
My Life as a Courgette (2016), for which she co-wrote the
screenplay.
Cow
Academy Award-winning director Andrea Arnold (American Honey, Fish Tank) returns with Cow (2021), a compelling portrait of the
life of a dairy cow called Luma that marks her first foray into
feature-length documentary filmmaking.
This intimate and observational work chronicles its subject’s daily
life, from grazing in green fields to giving birth, making milk and
everything in between. A profoundly empathetic and unexpectedly moving
contemplation of life and our relationship with animals, this is pure
cinema shot through with Arnold’s typically vivacious energy.
Lamb
This month, the audacious, genre-defying debut feature
Lamb (2021) from Icelandic writer-director
Valdimar Jóhannsson streams exclusively on MUBI. The darkly
compelling fable tells the story of a couple living alone on a remote
farm, who find their quiet existence shaken by the astonishing discovery
of a mysterious newborn amongst their sheep. They decide to raise the
child as their own, but soon face the consequences of defying the will
of nature.
Winner of the Prize of Originality award at the 2021 Cannes Film
Festival, and featuring a career-best performance from
Noomi Rapace (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), this disturbing and uniquely unsettling cinematic experience is
truly unlike anything you’ve seen before.
With Lamb landing, MUBI will be spotlighting other gems
from contemporary Icelandic cinema, including Grímur Hákonarson’s
acclaimed
Rams
(2017) and Rúnar Rúnarsson’s kaleidoscopic
Echo (2019).
Festival Focus: Berlinale
MUBI's February special Festival Focus: Berlinale returns with
highlights from the 2021 summer edition of the Berlin International Film
Festival.
This year’s selection includes
Ballad of a White Cow (2021) co-directed by
Behtash Sanaeeha and Maryam Moghaddam,
For Lucio (2021) Pietro Marcello’s follow up to the
highly acclaimed
Martin Eden
(2019), and Human Factors (2021) from
Ronny Trocker, as well as MUBI Releases
Taste (2021), Le Bao’s stunning and original debut
tapping into the politics and broken promises of globalization and
migration, and Petite Maman (2021), Céline Sciamma’s
tender reflection on mother-daughter relationships.
Never Gonna Snow Again
Małgorzata Szumowska (The Other Lamb) and long-time collaborator Michal Englert craft an atmospheric
fairytale observing the socio-political turmoil of modern-day Poland in
Never Gonna Snow Again (2020), streaming exclusively on
MUBI this month.
The Eastern European masseur Zhenia possesses an almost magical gift.
Working in a gated community in Poland, he quickly becomes a guru-like
figure to his wealthy clients, treating their pains and worries.
However, Zhenia’s background remains a mystery – leaving the residents
to wonder what secrets the outsider might be carrying with him.
The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmão
Winner of Un Certain Regard at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, director
Karim Aïnouz’s
The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmão
(2019) comes to MUBI exclusively. Starting in Rio de Janeiro in the
1950s, the decade spanning melodrama tackles the obligations and
expectations of toxic patriarchal societies in a stylish and sweeping
style.
Sisters Euridice and Guida, although immersed in a traditional life,
each nourish a dream: Euridice of becoming a pianist, Guida of finding
love. Forced to live apart, they take control of their destinies while
never giving up hope of finding each other.
In the Mood for Love: A Valentine’s Day Celebration
MUBI presents a Valentine’s Day triple bill fit for both the cynics and
the lovers. They start the series with Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s
Asako I & II (2018), the Japanese romance drama twisting
love at first sight with a case of mistaken identity, followed by
François Ozon’s
L’amant Double
(2017), the psychological thriller of a woman falling in love with her
psychiatrist and discovering his secret double life. To finish the series
off, the beautifully restored Love Affair (1939), directed
by Leo McCarey – a tender and bittersweet story of star-crossed
lovers who fall hopelessly in love with each other after meeting aboard a
New York bound ocean liner.
Akosua Adoma Owusu: The Hair Trilogy
This month’s artist focus spotlights the work of Ghanaian-American
experimental filmmaker Akosua Adoma Owusu. Her work opens a
cinematic space for feminist and queer ideas whilst her bold, playful
and freewheeling shorts blur boundaries between experimental, narrative
and non-fiction filmmaking.
“The Hair Trilogy,” featuring White Afro (2019),
Split Ends, I Feel Wonderful (2012) and
My White Baby (Me Broni Ba) (2009), explores the
entanglements of the power, politics, and appropriation of Black hair
and beauty practices.
Rediscovered: The Child of Another (Muna Moto)
Ngando and Ndomé, a couple in love expecting a child, are unable to marry
as Ngando is unable to pay the dowry. Ndomé is forced to marry someone
else for the sake of tradition, Ngando sinks into despair and decides to
kidnap their baby. Jean-Pierre Dikongue-Pipa’s recently restored
The Child of Another (Muna Moto) (1975) is a raw and
gripping exploration of colonialism, misogyny and exploitation within a
local community.
